My body fat, tape measurements and scale weight are all performed while fasted (first thing in the morning before eating or drinking).

All measurements are taken “cold” (no pump), and flexed.

A 7-point or 9-point body fat caliper pinch test is the most accurate “at-home” method of determining one’s body fat percentage, but even in the most skilled hands calipers have a margin of error up to +/-3%. The key is consistent readings from one week to the next: the actual number is not that important (to me).

If you want the most accurate body fat percentage reading possible, go have a DEXA test done.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE:This is the exact equipment I use to track my progress every week

Over the past week I’ve lost 2.3 pounds of fat and lost 1.7 pounds of lean mass. Since the beginning of my 2015 cut I’ve lost a total of 9.13 pounds of fat and lost a total of 6.07 pounds of lean mass.

My tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) indicate that over the past week I’ve lost a half inch from my hips, a half inch from my thighs, a quarter inch from my waist, a quarter inch from my chest and a quarter inch from my arms while all other measurements remain the same. Since the beginning of my 2015 cut I’ve lost 2.0 inches from my waist, 1.5 inches from my hips, 1.25 inches from my thighs, 0.5 inches from my chest, 0.25 inches from my calves and 0.25 inches from my arms.

Here are this week’s actual tape measurements:

Location

Current Measurement

Waist

30.25″

Hips

36.75″

Forearms

12″

Arms

14.25″

Quads

21.25″

Calves

15.50″

Chest

40.00″

ANALYSIS

Wow, 4 pounds of scale weight loss over 7 days is quite a week of progress, particularly at this stage of the cut. I do need to point out that I’m a bit depleted this morning. Yesterday I did a 170 kilometer/106 mile training ride, and it was one of the toughest century rides I’ve ever done (I may blog about it tomorrow). I suspect that roughly 1 pound of this week’s lean mass loss is water weight, and I will probably put that back on today as I continue to recover from yesterday’s ride. We’ll see.

DIET

Diet this week was, as always, 100% to my cutting plan and very clean. No changes were made to my diet this week, so not much to report here.

My complete daily food logs for this cut can be found on MyFitnessPal.

TRAINING

So far this week I’ve cycled a total of 308.2 kilometers (191.5 miles) and, of course, today I’ll be riding. I’ll also be lifting today.

My riding streak continues unbroken with 404 straight days in the saddle starting December 31, 2013.

My cycling totals for 2015 (38 days) currently stand at 1,863.78 kilometers (1,158.1 miles) with 12,815 meters (42,044 feet) of elevation. My total riding time for 2015 is a little over 58 hours in the saddle.

I’ve set 83 cycling personal records for time so far in 2015, and 6 lifetime best power output personal records (including one yesterday, and it was a big one: 5 hour). Setting a 5 hour power output PR (+14 watts over my previous best) on a 106 mile ride this deep into my cut is, frankly, not something I imagined would have been possible. I had to dig deep to get it, and so I am very happy to have bagged that PR. Here are all my current power output personal records.

WRAP-UP

As of this morning I’ve only got a hair over 8 pounds standing between me and my goal weight of 155.x pounds, and that puts me ahead of schedule for my target date of March 8th. As I stated above, I do believe I’ll put about a pound of water back on over the next day or so, but then again yesterday’s ride has certainly shifted my metabolism in high gear. Because of that, my body will be burning calories at an accelerated rate for at least a couple days. Love the afterburner effect of those long, hard rides!

I’m beyond pleased about the six new power personal records I’ve set on this cut–especially the 5 hour lifetime best. These PRs indicate that my weight loss is not affecting my power or stamina on the bike. Once I return to maintenance I strongly believe that my power will increase, and I’ll be nearly 25 pounds lighter on top of that.

No changes to diet or training are required this week. Coming down the home stretch!

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